Somacandra:Why would you send poll watchers to predominantly black precincts (in MS) for a Republican primary? Running low on tumbleweeds?

Also, paywalls make Baby Jebus cry.

Other articles have more details but basically MS has open primaries and Cochran has been doing some Black voter outreach (since the Primary basically IS the general election in MS)

Kooky Ken and his buddies are really worried about voter Fraud...ie the wrong people voting in THEIR election, so they are going to send "watchers" to explain to people that they MIGHT be committing a crime if they vote in the primary (and already voted in the dem primary)

Because Chochran has been courting the black vote, and its perfectly rational for black folks to vote for him.

Well, given how reliant MS is, as a state on funds fromt he Federal government it makes sense, especially for the poor to support the candidate who shamelessly brings home the bacon over the one who swears he's never touch dirty filthy federal money. But if McDaniel gets elected that promise will last only as long as his first meeting with the governor who lays out the third word ruin MS becomes if the federal spigot shuts off

Other articles have more details but basically MS has open primaries and Cochran has been doing some Black voter outreach (since the Primary basically IS the general election in MS)

Kooky Ken and his buddies are really worried about voter Fraud...ie the wrong people voting in THEIR election, so they are going to send "watchers" to explain to people that they MIGHT be committing a crime if they vote in the primary (and already voted in the dem primary)

Can't copy pasta because I'm on a phone, but Dems can only vote in the runoff if they didn't vote in the Dem primary. So Cuccinelli's group is there to 'ensure' only those Dems that didn't vote in the Dem primary vote in the runoff, and certainly won't be there to intimidate.

Well that would be an intentional attempt to circumvent copyright protections which would be bad, but HERE is the text of an article that cites the NY times article and several others to provide a very complete picture of what is going on: from the Wire)

Here's a story that sounds way too familiar: Mississippi conservatives will be watching the polls during Tuesday's primary, to make sure black Democrats aren't breaking any voting laws. Following incumbent Sen. Thad Cochran's outreach to black voters in his bid to ward off a primary challenger, a coalition of conservatives groups backing his Tea Party opponent Chris McDaniel have formed a "voter integrity project" to "observe whether the law is being followed," as the coalition's advisor told The New York Times.The Senate Conservative Fund, FreedomWorks, and the Tea Party Patriots have teamed up to send "election observers" to watch the polls in areas where Cochran has outreached to black Democrats. "The laws in Mississippi are unusually open to poll watching from the outside," Ken Cuccinelli, the Senate Conservatives Fund's president (and former Virginia governor hopeful), toldThe Times. "We're going to take full advantage of that and we're going to lay eyes on Cochran's effort to bring Democrats in ... And of course, if they voted in primaries, that's illegal."In Mississippi, voters don't have to register for a party, so registered voters of any affiliation can vote in the run-off election as long as they didn't vote in the June 3 Democratic primary. And The Washington Post, voter turnout at the Democratic primary was low, and McDaniel didn't do well in mostly black counties. Cochran, who came in second to McDaniel in the Republican primary earlier this month, knows that, and is reaching out to black Democrats to give him an edge in Tuesday's runoff. Cue the voter integrity project. They'll need McDaniel's permission to contest any votes, but under Mississippi law they're allowed to stake out the polls.So how will "election observers" be able to tell the difference between black Democrats who are voting legally and black Democrats who aren't? We asked the three organizations behind the voter integrity project what they'll be looking for, and we'll update this post if we receive any responses.What is clear is the motivation behind this: black votes are a threat to Tea Party ambition. Matthew Steffey, an election law expert at the Mississippi College School of Law, told The Times that some people "think this is not really about legal challenges to individual ballots, but about dissuading or in some cases intimidating voters from coming to the polls to begin with." Meanwhile, over the weekend a woman at a Tea Party Express rally implied that Cochran is paying black people to vote for him, according to the Times, which Cochran's campaign called "crazy talk."What conservatives aren't acknowledging is that the enemy of your enemy is kind of your political ally. , while Cochran hasn't been the best ally to black voters, he has funneled federal funds into the state, creating jobs and supporting local programs. McDaniel is completely against that kind of government spending, and, along with and threatening to stop paying taxes if slavery reparations pass, he comes off as the greater of two political evils. The fact that his political allies are going to be watching the polls on Tuesday only seems support that perception.

iheartscotch:Interesting. But, it's ok if black panthers stand out in front of the polling place to "protect voters"? It's only wrong if we're not doing it?

/ I guess some people really are more equal than others

Just out of curiosity, does that 'we' indicate that you are schizophrenic? Or are you perhaps speaking on behalf of your own political group? Or are you just presuming to speak for a race, while being unaware of the irony?

Peter von Nostrand:iheartscotch: Interesting. But, it's ok if black panthers stand out in front of the polling place to "protect voters"? It's only wrong if we're not doing it?

/ I guess some people really are more equal than others

Short, stupid, slightly racist but to the point. Good job

7/10

You know what? You're right. I should have said African American panthers. That was awful offensive of me to refer to them as black panthers. I'd like to take this opportunity to apologize to the black panther community. I'm sorry, big cats that don't actually exist and are actually regular panthers with a lot of really dark spots.

Other articles have more details but basically MS has open primaries and Cochran has been doing some Black voter outreach (since the Primary basically IS the general election in MS)

Kooky Ken and his buddies are really worried about voter Fraud...ie the wrong people voting in THEIR election, so they are going to send "watchers" to explain to people that they MIGHT be committing a crime if they vote in the primary (and already voted in the dem primary)

Actually, more than that. There is an unenforceable law that is still on Mississippi's books that primary voters must also intend to vote the nominee of the party whose primary they voted in.

The AG of Mississippi have said that it's unenforceable and that the state will not enforce it. Kooky Ken is deciding that the law is still enforceable so he is sending observers to make sure that the only people who vote in those primaries also intend to vote for the winner of the primary in the general (i.e. no black people).

iheartscotch:Peter von Nostrand: iheartscotch: Interesting. But, it's ok if black panthers stand out in front of the polling place to "protect voters"? It's only wrong if we're not doing it?

/ I guess some people really are more equal than others

Short, stupid, slightly racist but to the point. Good job

7/10

You know what? You're right. I should have said African American panthers. That was awful offensive of me to refer to them as black panthers. I'd like to take this opportunity to apologize to the black panther community. I'm sorry, big cats that don't actually exist and are actually regular panthers with a lot of really dark spots.

So, what black panthers are you talking about? The two guys in PA who left when asked? Did either of them actually interact with anyone outside of posing for pictures?

dr_blasto:iheartscotch: Peter von Nostrand: iheartscotch: Interesting. But, it's ok if black panthers stand out in front of the polling place to "protect voters"? It's only wrong if we're not doing it?

/ I guess some people really are more equal than others

Short, stupid, slightly racist but to the point. Good job

7/10

You know what? You're right. I should have said African American panthers. That was awful offensive of me to refer to them as black panthers. I'd like to take this opportunity to apologize to the black panther community. I'm sorry, big cats that don't actually exist and are actually regular panthers with a lot of really dark spots.

So, what black panthers are you talking about? The two guys in PA who left when asked? Did either of them actually interact with anyone outside of posing for pictures?

I mean, if black guys intimidate you, then you've got some issues.

Does it really matter which incident I'm talking about? Even if it was a legit voter intimidation incident; nobody would do shiat about it. The incident in 2008 demonstrated that the Justice department wouldn't prosecute individuals of a certain panther party for any sort of voter intimidation incident.

/ I don't have an issue with the black panther movement, they do have several good points; I do have an issue with equal application of the law. A person's skin color should not effect the application of the law.

iheartscotch:dr_blasto: iheartscotch: Peter von Nostrand: iheartscotch: Interesting. But, it's ok if black panthers stand out in front of the polling place to "protect voters"? It's only wrong if we're not doing it?

/ I guess some people really are more equal than others

Short, stupid, slightly racist but to the point. Good job

7/10

You know what? You're right. I should have said African American panthers. That was awful offensive of me to refer to them as black panthers. I'd like to take this opportunity to apologize to the black panther community. I'm sorry, big cats that don't actually exist and are actually regular panthers with a lot of really dark spots.

So, what black panthers are you talking about? The two guys in PA who left when asked? Did either of them actually interact with anyone outside of posing for pictures?

I mean, if black guys intimidate you, then you've got some issues.

Does it really matter which incident I'm talking about? Even if it was a legit voter intimidation incident; nobody would do shiat about it. The incident in 2008 demonstrated that the Justice department wouldn't prosecute individuals of a certain panther party for any sort of voter intimidation incident.

/ I don't have an issue with the black panther movement, they do have several good points; I do have an issue with equal application of the law. A person's skin color should not effect the application of the law.

And if it were actual voter intimidation instead of someone being afraid of a black guy, they would have been prosecuted.

iheartscotch:dr_blasto: iheartscotch: Peter von Nostrand: iheartscotch: Interesting. But, it's ok if black panthers stand out in front of the polling place to "protect voters"? It's only wrong if we're not doing it?

/ I guess some people really are more equal than others

Short, stupid, slightly racist but to the point. Good job

7/10

You know what? You're right. I should have said African American panthers. That was awful offensive of me to refer to them as black panthers. I'd like to take this opportunity to apologize to the black panther community. I'm sorry, big cats that don't actually exist and are actually regular panthers with a lot of really dark spots.

So, what black panthers are you talking about? The two guys in PA who left when asked? Did either of them actually interact with anyone outside of posing for pictures?

I mean, if black guys intimidate you, then you've got some issues.

Does it really matter which incident I'm talking about? Even if it was a legit voter intimidation incident; nobody would do shiat about it. The incident in 2008 demonstrated that the Justice department wouldn't prosecute individuals of a certain panther party for any sort of voter intimidation incident.

/ I don't have an issue with the black panther movement, they do have several good points; I do have an issue with equal application of the law. A person's skin color should not effect the application of the law.

I'm only familiar with that single incident, so forgive me here. Those two guys stood around, confronted no one and left when asked.

Now, that hardly seems like something actionable. Directly confronting people? That's a completely different story, especially if the majority of the people you're going to confront are from a group that has historically been mistreated by law enforcement and subject to well-documented and ongoing mistreatment by authorities.

Aarontology:iheartscotch: dr_blasto: iheartscotch: Peter von Nostrand: iheartscotch: Interesting. But, it's ok if black panthers stand out in front of the polling place to "protect voters"? It's only wrong if we're not doing it?

/ I guess some people really are more equal than others

Short, stupid, slightly racist but to the point. Good job

7/10

You know what? You're right. I should have said African American panthers. That was awful offensive of me to refer to them as black panthers. I'd like to take this opportunity to apologize to the black panther community. I'm sorry, big cats that don't actually exist and are actually regular panthers with a lot of really dark spots.

So, what black panthers are you talking about? The two guys in PA who left when asked? Did either of them actually interact with anyone outside of posing for pictures?

I mean, if black guys intimidate you, then you've got some issues.

Does it really matter which incident I'm talking about? Even if it was a legit voter intimidation incident; nobody would do shiat about it. The incident in 2008 demonstrated that the Justice department wouldn't prosecute individuals of a certain panther party for any sort of voter intimidation incident.

/ I don't have an issue with the black panther movement, they do have several good points; I do have an issue with equal application of the law. A person's skin color should not effect the application of the law.

And if it were actual voter intimidation instead of someone being afraid of a black guy, they would have been prosecuted.

Skin color didn't play into the decision to not prosecute.

Ok.If you'll indulge me; I'd like to play a little devil's advocate here.

You'd be alright with it if two members of the Klan stood, just stood mind you, in front of a polling place?

You know what? You're right. I should have said African American panthers. That was awful offensive of me to refer to them as black panthers. I'd like to take this opportunity to apologize to the black panther community. I'm sorry, big cats that don't actually exist and are actually regular panthers with a lot of really dark spots.

So, what black panthers are you talking about? The two guys in PA who left when asked? Did either of them actually interact with anyone outside of posing for pictures?

I mean, if black guys intimidate you, then you've got some issues.

Does it really matter which incident I'm talking about? Even if it was a legit voter intimidation incident; nobody would do shiat about it. The incident in 2008 demonstrated that the Justice department wouldn't prosecute individuals of a certain panther party for any sort of voter intimidation incident.

/ I don't have an issue with the black panther movement, they do have several good points; I do have an issue with equal application of the law. A person's skin color should not effect the application of the law.

And if it were actual voter intimidation instead of someone being afraid of a black guy, they would have been prosecuted.

Skin color didn't play into the decision to not prosecute.

Ok.If you'll indulge me; I'd like to play a little devil's advocate here.

You'd be alright with it if two members of the Klan stood, just stood mind you, in front of a polling place?

// before you say KKK != NBPP; they are both classified as hate groups; with link for the NBPP http://www.splc ...

I'd be fine with it, although I may decide to fark with them. They'd also have to leave when asked. That's the other part. I'll ask: do the klan losers show their face or do they hide behind their pillowcases? At least the black guys in PA weren't afraid to show their faces.

If the law lets them linger, then they can linger. I can also use my First Amendment right to laugh at them and call them cowards, losers and shiatbags, though.

Somacandra:DamnYankees: its perfectly rational for black folks to vote for him.

Insofar as voting is rational, I'll concede its rational for anyone to vote for a candidate. But it still seems a bit odd demographically.

Well, if you know that the Democrat has no shot and the GOP primary is basically the election, it makes sense, if you're liberal, to vote for the less reactionary conservative candidate. And if, like in this case, both candidates are insanely reactionary conservatives, might as well vote for the one who brings home pork.

Other articles have more details but basically MS has open primaries and Cochran has been doing some Black voter outreach (since the Primary basically IS the general election in MS)

Kooky Ken and his buddies are really worried about voter Fraud...ie the wrong people voting in THEIR election, so they are going to send "watchers" to explain to people that they MIGHT be committing a crime if they vote in the primary (and already voted in the dem primary)

Actually, more than that. There is an unenforceable law that is still on Mississippi's books that primary voters must also intend to vote the nominee of the party whose primary they voted in.

The AG of Mississippi have said that it's unenforceable and that the state will not enforce it. Kooky Ken is deciding that the law is still enforceable so he is sending observers to make sure that the only people who vote in those primaries also intend to vote for the winner of the primary in the general (i.e. no black people).

Interesting. I was sorta wondering how they kept track of who voted in the Democratic primary.

You know what? You're right. I should have said African American panthers. That was awful offensive of me to refer to them as black panthers. I'd like to take this opportunity to apologize to the black panther community. I'm sorry, big cats that don't actually exist and are actually regular panthers with a lot of really dark spots.

So, what black panthers are you talking about? The two guys in PA who left when asked? Did either of them actually interact with anyone outside of posing for pictures?

I mean, if black guys intimidate you, then you've got some issues.

Does it really matter which incident I'm talking about? Even if it was a legit voter intimidation incident; nobody would do shiat about it. The incident in 2008 demonstrated that the Justice department wouldn't prosecute individuals of a certain panther party for any sort of voter intimidation incident.

/ I don't have an issue with the black panther movement, they do have several good points; I do have an issue with equal application of the law. A person's skin color should not effect the application of the law.

And if it were actual voter intimidation instead of someone being afraid of a black guy, they would have been prosecuted.

Skin color didn't play into the decision to not prosecute.

Ok.If you'll indulge me; I'd like to play a little devil's advocate here.

You'd be alright with it if two members of the Klan stood, just stood mind you, in front of a polling place?

You know what? You're right. I should have said African American panthers. That was awful offensive of me to refer to them as black panthers. I'd like to take this opportunity to apologize to the black panther community. I'm sorry, big cats that don't actually exist and are actually regular panthers with a lot of really dark spots.

So, what black panthers are you talking about? The two guys in PA who left when asked? Did either of them actually interact with anyone outside of posing for pictures?

I mean, if black guys intimidate you, then you've got some issues.

Does it really matter which incident I'm talking about? Even if it was a legit voter intimidation incident; nobody would do shiat about it. The incident in 2008 demonstrated that the Justice department wouldn't prosecute individuals of a certain panther party for any sort of voter intimidation incident.

/ I don't have an issue with the black panther movement, they do have several good points; I do have an issue with equal application of the law. A person's skin color should not effect the application of the law.

And if it were actual voter intimidation instead of someone being afraid of a black guy, they would have been prosecuted.

Skin color didn't play into the decision to not prosecute.

Ok.If you'll indulge me; I'd like to play a little devil's advocate here.

You'd be alright with it if two members of the Klan stood, just stood mind you, in front of a polling place?

Yeah, hell yeah. If they lived in that precinct and had registered as Poll Watchers in that precinct, I'd be fine with it.And that's EXACTLY what your scary black dudes did. Registered as poll watchers in their own voting precinct in the city where they lived...

I wonder...If the observers' candidate wins, will they report their findings from their observations? Just a guess,, mind you, I think they are reserving their objections only in case their candidate loses. (It is the Tea Party way)

Somacandra:Why would you send poll watchers to predominantly black precincts (in MS) for a Republican primary? Running low on tumbleweeds?

Also, paywalls make Baby Jebus cry.

Because, as a brain-damaged twenty-first century Republican, you are convinced that the silent majority of Real Murcans want you to come out into the open and say that Murca's woes are all caused by lazy greedy brown people who shouldn't be allowed to vote.

Well, if you know that the Democrat has no shot and the GOP primary is basically the election, it makes sense, if you're liberal, to vote for the less reactionary conservative candidate.

I completely disagree. In the long run, the Tea Party is the best thing to happen to progressives in America since Reagan took power. Liberals and progressives (not Blue Dog Democrats) should be encouraging the Tea Party take over of the GOP, and in situations like this they should vote for the more extremist Republican. This move to the hard right will kill the Repubs as a national force, and the discrediting of the GOP will enable a true left-wing alternative to the right-wing Democratic Party to arise.

The current situation, of a right-wing, conservative Democratic Party vying with an even-more right-wing, conservative Republican Party, sucks. The solution though isn't to pull the Republicans back from the edge though ... it's to push them off.

Other articles have more details but basically MS has open primaries and Cochran has been doing some Black voter outreach (since the Primary basically IS the general election in MS)

Kooky Ken and his buddies are really worried about voter Fraud...ie the wrong people voting in THEIR election, so they are going to send "watchers" to explain to people that they MIGHT be committing a crime if they vote in the primary (and already voted in the dem primary)

Actually, more than that. There is an unenforceable law that is still on Mississippi's books that primary voters must also intend to vote the nominee of the party whose primary they voted in.

The AG of Mississippi have said that it's unenforceable and that the state will not enforce it. Kooky Ken is deciding that the law is still enforceable so he is sending observers to make sure that the only people who vote in those primaries also intend to vote for the winner of the primary in the general (i.e. no black people).

Jesus.... And that's the asshole who nearly became the governor of VA... That'd farking scary how many people voted for that idiot.

iheartscotch:Does it really matter which incident I'm talking about? Even if it was a legit voter intimidation incident; nobody would do shiat about it. The incident in 2008 demonstrated that the Justice department wouldn't prosecute individuals of a certain panther party for any sort of voter intimidation incident.

/ I don't have an issue with the black panther movement, they do have several good points; I do have an issue with equal application of the law. A person's skin color should not effect the application of the law.